International Days have been observed before the establishment of the United Nations, and following this concept the UN has adopted the occasions as tools for advocacy.
They mark specific days in an effort to create awareness and educate the public on issues of humanitarian concern and to mobilise governmental will and power to combat global problems. International days also serve to highlight and celebrate the achievements of humanity thus far. Since 2013, the 30th of July is celebrated every year as the ‘World Day Against Trafficking in Persons’ as designated by the UN. Human trafficking is a crime in which women, children and men are exploited for forced labour and sex. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates that 21 million people are victims of forced labour globally. It is an ongoing epidemic that no country is immune to, and victims fall into the hands of traffickers, lured by fake promises and deceit.
Globally, countries are detecting and reporting more victims and also convicting more traffickers. This increase in number could be an indication that awareness on the issue is growing and victims are able to speak up and the capacity to identify victims has also improved, or that simply the rates of trafficking victims and perpetrators are growing. Countries all over the world are serving as origin, transit or destination for victims, and there has also been a growing trend of people being trafficked in their own country. According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), of all detected victims, the rates of victims in their own country has doubled to 58% over the past few years. This year, the UNDOC has chosen the theme “responding to the trafficking of children and young people”. This serves to highlight the fact that children constitute almost a third of all trafficking victims. Traffickers continue to target women and children and the vast majority of victims are sexually exploited.
The Government of India falls into the Tier 2 category of countries in the fight against trafficking, as it does not meet the minimum requirements for the elimination of trafficking, however the county is making significant strides in its efforts to fight the menace. India has nearly tripled its identification of victims and has increased its budget for programmes to help trafficking survivors. However, in the areas of victim protection and the number of investigations and conviction of perpetrators, India’s rates were disproportionately low relative to the scale of trafficking in India. This heinous crime is growing not only globally, but right here in Nagaland as well. In Nagaland there have been various documented cases of forced and unpaid labour at homes, and a growing business in trafficking. For instance, an incident took place in April, 2019 wherein two female trafficking victims were rescued from Nagaland; the two women from Assam were taken to Nagaland with the promise of giving jobs but were sold to human trafficking rings. The Nagaland police were instrumental in this rescue and centres have been set up by the National Mission for Empowerment of Women by the Ministry of Women and Child Development across India to provide support and assistance to survivors of violence.
The 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda was adopted by the world in September 2015, and goals and targets on trafficking in persons were set in-order to eliminate violence and exploitation of women, children and men. There are various ways to combat this inhumane act; governments can increase awareness efforts and ensure compensation as well as programmes for survivors. Robust measures for access to justice must be taken and states must invest in long-term solutions to ensure social inclusion of survivors. We as members of our society need to educate ourselves about basic human rights, and become more aware of signs of trafficking and the recruitment methods of traffickers. We also need to work with our state legislature, specifically for anti-trafficking community-based programmes. We need to uphold human values and fight for each individual affected by the menace of trafficking, regardless of gender, age, race, religion, culture or any other dividing factors.
